For those who are eagerly awaiting decent cell service in the canyons, there's some reason to be hopeful.

Verizon no longer is looking at the Children's Center as its central switch site because of issues obtaining a sublease there. Verizon now is looking at the Silverado Community Center for its site. They have just done the preliminary review there.

This is a complex matter both technically and legally, so it will take a little time to complete all the reviews and engineering. Verizon also is planning to install a backup generator and batteries at the Community Center so there will be service during power outages and disasters (the SCC is a designated Red Cross shelter.) These need to be installed on raised platforms, and space and esthetic design is needed for this equipment and platforms.

Hopefully by summer all of this will be settled and the roll-out can commence, though that is only a guess at this point. So don't toss out those Network Extender boxes just yet, but be hopeful.

Verizon will be installing cell radios on existing electric poles: 6 in Modjeska and 12 along Silverado Canyon Road. More information for this are in prior blog posts. Click the "Wireless" category to the right to see all those, or click here to view the post from May 2016 with Verizon's coverage and site maps.